We've talked before about EXIF data—or metadata—attached to photos and how it can expose information about your location, what type of device you're using, and even the device or camera's unique identification number.
If you think it's not that big a deal, just ask John McAfee—his location was revealed when a Vice reporter uploaded a photo of the two without removing the EXIF data, which directly led to his arrest.
There are plenty of ways to get rid of the info on your computer, but what about your smartphone? If you're an Android user, there's an app called Image Privacy that strips the EXIF data from your photos before you share them in a message or post them to social media sites.
It does so by adding a simple, unobtrusive option to your phone's Share menu. When you install it, you'll still have all your normal sharing options, but there will be an added option to Strip metadata before sharing.
You'll still have a copy of the original photo, and a clean copy will be saved with "_stripped_" added to the title. From there, just choose to share the new photo and it will be sent or uploaded to your channel of choice.
So what about photos taken with an iPhone or camera?
I wasn't able to find any free apps for iPhone, but ExifRemover costs $1.99 and is similar to Image Privacy. For other photos, you can upload them to your computer and use Windows Explorer or a number of other programs to strip the metadata.
Know of any other apps for removing EXIF data from photos? Let us know in the comments below.
Just updated your iPhone to iOS 18? You'll find a ton of hot new features for some of your most-used Apple apps. Dive in and see for yourself:
2 Comments
Hello, I'm using iMeatPhoto on my iPhone, and I'm happy with it.
Just select one or more photos and with one click you can remove all metadata (new photos are generated, no existing photo gets changed).
Hi,
In regard to your discussion, I would recommend an android phone application that is quite useful for the purpose. I use an app named "GPS Privacy" that automatically deletes the GPS location tags if the photo is taken in a privacy area – like around your home, school, work, etc. This way you don't have to remember whether you have the GPS tags on or off. Simply define your privacy areas, and your pictures won't have GPS coordinates when made in these zones
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shumoapp.gpsprivacy&hl=en
Hope this would be helpful for you as well!
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